on Narmada with some of the special
partial irrigation and water supply needs.
features of the project whicht are the
Further construction is in process.
following :-
This dam is the focal point of both the dam-
The spillway discharging capacity at 87000
builders and the Narmada Bachao Andolan's
Cum/Sec is the 3rd highest in the world.
opposition. The Govt claimed that the multi-
With 1133 m3/Sec capacity of Head
purpose Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) would
Regulator and 532 KM length with 75000
irrigate more than 1.8 million hectares
KM length of distribution system including
(mostly in Gujarat, some in Rajasthan) and
field channel, the Narmada main canal is the
quench the thirst of the drought prone areas
largest irrigation canal in the world.
of Kutch and Saurashtra in Gujarat. The
3
The project aims at supplying 3571 m /day
opponents of the dam counter that these
of drinking water to 8215 villages and 135
benefits are grossly exaggerated and the
towns in Gujarat, which are suffering from
benefit cannot reach to the extent suggested
acute shortage of water. The project also
by the Govt. They have shown that the
aims to provide drinking water facilities to a
project would displace more than 320,000
population of about 13,71,000 at 1107
people and affect the livelihood of thousands
villages and two towns in Jalore district and
of
Barmer district of Rajasthan.
displacements by the canal system and other
others.
Overall,
due
to
related
allied projects, at least 1 million people are
All the six units of River Bed Power House
expected to be affected if the project is
have been commissioned successfully by
completed.
June, 2006 and are in operation. All five
The submergence area is broadly divided in
units of Canal Head Power House have been
two areas, viz. (1) Fully tribal area and (2)
commissioned successfully by December,
Submergence area with mixed population
2004 and are in operation.
area on the Nimad plains, with a very welldeveloped economy that is well-connected
The
main
Irrigation
Canal
has
been
substantially constructed for a length of 357
km. Water has been let into the canal for
7
Integrated River Basin Management Society
to the main stream.